As soon as they arrived, Li Tianlan examined the surrounding environment.

They both drove very fast. Li Tianlan had been chatting with Ning Qiancheng on the way for half an hour. When the car came to a complete stop, he realized that they were already on the mountain.

There were no high mountains in Huating. With an alt.i.tude of no more than one hundred meters, this place was more of a big hill than of a mountain. Even when standing at the hilltop, people wouldn’t feel the heroic spirit when they climbed high and gazed far. The only advantage of this place might be that it was very secluded. No matter how much noise they made, no one would come and disturb.

Today was the fifteenth day of the month in the lunar calendar. A full moon was hanging in the sky.

Being far away from city lights, the deserted hill was bathed in moonshine, clear and bright.

“Where is this place?”

Li Tianlan’s eyes gradually adapted to the dim light at the hilltop and he glanced around.

The city lights far away below them were thin and misty. They were surrounded by forests without any landmarks at sight. Li Tianlan was only sure that they were at the northwest of Huating, but had not a clue as to the precise location.

“This is Mount Tong.”

Ning Qiancheng whispered to Li Tianlan when he got off the car.

“Is there anything special?”

Li Tianlan was asking Ning Qiancheng, but his eyes turned spontaneously to the Lexus ahead.

The car door was open. Tan Xilai got off with an aggressive face. The killing intent was continuously brewing inside him.

Apparently, Mount Tong was the place he chose for this death match. This place was more than ten kilometers away from the bar. They made a big detour for this battle. If not for some special purposes, it would be much better to settle the dispute in a more convenient location.

“Look over there.”

Ning Qiancheng smiled and pointed to one direction.

Li Tianlan looked in the direction of his finger. Within his sight, there was a forest covered under the clear moonlight. Only some faint light was visible.

“That’s the base of the Special Operations Bureau in Huating.”

Ning Qiancheng explained, “It’s about two kilometers away from here.”

The Special Operations Bureau in Huating.

Of course Li Tianlan knew this secret and independent organization.

In Zhongzhou State, the Special Operations Bureau was governed by the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of National Defense in name only. But in fact, it only listened to the power center of the Special Warfare System, Kunlun City. Kunlun City was the top governing body of Zhongzhou State’s Special Warfare System. The Special Operations Bureaus scattered among the entire state were an extension of the Special Warfare System’s power. Such a secret organization was different from local influences. It represented the official voice of the whole Special Warfare System.

Currently, the Special Operations Bureau was a provincial level organization, with one director and two vice directors. But there were not many restrictions on the size of personnel force. The director general was treated with the welfare of a Governor. As the top authority of the Special Warfare System in a province, it was kept secret from the public and not exposed.

In some very important cities, there would also be a Special Operations Division. The division chief enjoyed the same treatment as the local general executive director.

Huating was not a very important city, but the most important city and a window to the outside in Zhongzhou State. It overtopped other ordinary provinces in both its political and economic status. Therefore, there was a Special Operations Bureau in Huating. It was one of the largest Special Operations Bureaus in Zhongzhou State. The general director was at least an expert in the peak of Thunder-shocking Realm and a General in military rank. He enjoyed treatment as a Governor and was a real big shot in Zhongzhou State.

“So?” Li Tianlan asked.

He didn’t understand the connection between the Special Operations Bureau and this battle.

“I don’t belong to the Eastern Theater of Operations, so I don’t know exactly. I only know that in a few days, the elites of the Eastern Theater of Operations and the Special Operations Bureau in Huating will have a counter-terrorism military exercise together. This area is within the range of the exercise.”

Ning Qiancheng looked at Tan Xilai nearby and added with pitying eyes, “Now, my father and his father are probably having a meeting in the base over there. Perhaps he thought it’s more convenient to carry my body there and irritate my father after he kills me. They can vent their anger by the way.” .

“What about you?”

Li Tianlan looked at Ning Qiancheng and asked, “What would you do if you kill Tan Xilai? Will you carry his body over there?”

“Of course I’ll run! What else shall I do?”

Ning Qiancheng scolded with a laugh, “Do you think I’m stupid enough to throw myself into the net?”

“I know my father. He’ll put the interests of the whole above everything else. Unity is above all and stability is first. He is more of a politician than a soldier. These years will be a key period for him. No matter I’m alive or dead, he won’t care about me. So Tianlan, it would be useless to involve the Ning family into the case. Perhaps after I kill Tan Xilai, you and I will be hunted down by the Tan family all over the world. Wouldn’t that be exciting?”

When talking about his father, Ning Qiancheng was very peaceful. It was not resentment or relief, but real, complete calmness, a more disappointed emotion than resentment.

Li Tianlan was not teasing him. He looked into his eyes and said seriously, “You treated me like a brother and I’ll tell you the truth. Even if the worst thing happens tonight, you’ll still be fine. If the worst comes to the worst, I’ll leave the Sky Academy.”

“But you’d better be careful. Tan Xilai is one realm higher than you no matter what. It would be too late for me to do anything if you’re killed.”

Ning Qiancheng glanced at Li Tianlan meaningfully and said almost the same words as Tan Xilai did in the bar, “Give me three minutes.”

Just at the same time.

Tan Xilai’s voice, full of suppressed malice, sounded, “Are you done with your last words? Drunbility Cheng, I don’t have time to waste with you!”

w.a.n.g Yuetong and Gu Youlan, who were lagged behind, had driven up the mountain.

The two parties were distinctly separated and stood opposite each other, with no more than one hundred meters between them, in a state of mutual hostility.

Ning Qiancheng turned calmly. He thought of the little sister who was most close to him from very small. He thought of her innocence and despair before dying. He thought of Tan Xilai’s ugly and vicious face when he pretended to be innocent.

He thought of the woman who was shameful and overwhelmed by s.e.xual impulse under him.

He thought of the majesty and coldness of his father, Ning Zhiyuan.

Night wind roared in the mountain. Bright and clear moonlight fell on the valley. At the top of Mount Tong, a chill in the air suddenly rose around Ning Qiancheng.

He held his fists softly.

The sound of ice freezing spread over the entire s.p.a.ce. The gra.s.s under their feet was suddenly covered by a layer of frost.

Ning Qiancheng’s eyes focused and he said coolly, “Let’s begin.”

“F*ck!” Tan Xilai gave a ferocious laugh.

Before he finished the word, his body charged forward like an arrow. Angry flames spread with his figure and melted the frost under his feet. The entire gra.s.sland went on fire when he crossed over.

The sound of ice freezing in the air became clearer. The sword intent grew intenser. An ice wall suddenly appeared in front of Ning Qiancheng and blocked Tan Xilai in the way.

Amid the howling flames, Tan Xilai didn’t slow down at all. A long saber formed by flames appeared in his hand. Apparently, he was not yet capable of condensing flames into a weapon because the long saber in his hand was a little loose in shape. But Tan Xilai cared for nothing and was rushing at full speed. He held the saber with both hands, leapt high up in the air, and hacked down violently!

The body of the flame saber swelled instantly!

The blade extended from one meter to three meters, and then to five meters. The larger it grew, the looser its shape became. Flames at the top of the blade grew fainter and almost drifted away.

But the hot temperature kept rising. With a quick hack from the loose blade, not only the ice wall in front but Ning Qiancheng was covered in its flames.

Although the flames had only the shape but no lethality, one hack from them immediately turned the entire ice wall into numerous pieces, which then shot at different directions.

Ning Qiancheng retreated quickly and the second ice wall rose in front of him. The shattered ice cubes transformed into endless ice swords in the hot temperature.

Those ice swords turned into a formation and the sword intent grew thicker and thicker, rolling and fluctuating without break.

Li Tianlan stared closely at every detail of their movements. All his attention was highly focused.

“Tan Xilai comes from the Asura Path and has learned all the essences. In recent years, the Asura Path has contented itself as the most loyal lackey of Kunlun City. Nevertheless, it’s still a Martial Arts influence where experts in the Invincible Realm have been born. Its unique technique contains great power, and is featured by the extreme approach—giving up all defense and focusing on attack. This move is called Selfless Wild Hack, which emphasizes complete sacrifice and pursues ultimate lethality. The unique techniques of Asura Path almost all look like this. People in the Asura Path are a group of lunatics taking no considerations of their lives. Tan Xilai has acquired the essence of Asura Path and can be regarded as an important figure.”

w.a.n.g Yuetong appeared by Li Tianlan’s side and explained softly.

“What about Qiancheng?”

Li Tianlan frowned a little and asked. He only had some shallow understanding of different Martial Art influences in Zhongzhou State, and was far from w.a.n.g Yuetong, who could name them as if enumerating her family valuables. The Asura Path was named after Asura, which revealed their b.l.o.o.d.y fighting style. According to Li Tianlan, the best way to handle such an opponent was to combat attack with attack and confront the tough with toughness. One step back could probably mean stepping back all the way and eventually losing every opportunity to strike back.

“Qiancheng must be building up strength.”

Feeling more and more ice sword intent acc.u.mulated in the battlefield, w.a.n.g Yuetong replied with uncertainty, “I don’t know what he’ll do next.”

Again, the second ice wall was cut down by the saber.

Ice cubes were flying all over the sky. But Ning Qiancheng remained cool and the third ice wall appeared.

Tan Xilai attacked wildly with the saber. His eyes were b.l.o.o.d.y red. At this moment, he was really like a complete lunatic, chasing all the way and exposing flaws all over his body. But he didn’t care. He only wanted to attack, to destroy, and to kill!

A large number of ice swords were gathering around Ning Qiancheng. The horrific sword intent grew clearer as the swords acc.u.mulated. But he kept stepping back, without any intention to strike.

Was he unable to strike back? Or was he waiting for a chance?

Li Tianlan took deep breaths and stared calmly at the battlefield, ready to a.s.sist at any time.

“Don’t worry, Qiancheng is not as weak as you think.”

w.a.n.g Yuetong continued, “The most quintessential unique technique of the Jade Pool is the Three Sword Storms, which is their basic technique. Ning Qiancheng is the trusted subordinate of Dongchen Wudi. He must have joined the Jade Pool in recent years. The Jade Pool is not inferior to the Asura Path at all in both foundation and power of unique techniques.”

Li Tianlan glanced at her and said nothing.

“People all say that Mount Shu has sword intent, which is not wrong. However, there seems to be a suspicion that Mount Shu is living off its past gains. The eldest brother of Mount Shu encountered bottleneck when he was a half step to Invincible Realm many years ago and hasn’t broken through all these years. During the several decades before that, there were still no experts of Invincible Realm from Mount Shu. But in the recent several decades, there have been two experts in the Invincible Realm in the Jade Pool. There’s a trend for the Jade Pool to surpa.s.s Mount Shu in the aspect of the sword. If Qiancheng has joined the Jade Pool, he’s not without a chance to break through the current situation. He’s been building up strength and acc.u.mulating swords.”

w.a.n.g Yuetong pointed at Ning Qiancheng and said, “Senior brother, look! There’re more and more swords around him. It looks as if he is waiting. When there are enough swords, he’ll release all the sword intent at one time and finish the killing with one strike!”